Are you excited??

Weekend at Bernies is almost upon us so I have trawled through the archives and uncovered some gems to get you in the mood...

Grommie doing her thang. Happy birthday you old duck!

CK strikes again

Morning walk at Seal Rocks. No swell :(

Crescent head as the swell go bigger... the next day they had to pick up guys who got swept around the point in the rubber duck. Remember that CK?

A tandem wave

Look at Bel's face!

I can't wait til friday... getting very excited already! See you there.

SM

Benny and the Jets (Ben Kennedy of course!)

What a night we had at the Jets!! There's nothing like a night out with the MOB - they shamelessly create laughter that follows them around like the lingering looks from the gentlemen in the next box. (Was that our newest recruit caught adjusting her cleavage on camera before she got up close to them?!)

ABC radio Newcastle put on a splendid night for us (Thank you Theresa, Kip, and Aaron), my lovely Husband drove the bus, and the MOB had the standard quota of champagne - all in the name of fun of course!

A few memorable mysteries:

Who was the mild mannered MOB member caught raiding the fridge at the Jets corporate box? Who managed to cheerfully spill their drink over the railing, refreshing the spectators below in a champagne shower? Who nearly caused a corporate box punchup over a dropped passionfruit? Hmmm, two of these answers are the same person...

I would like some MOB feedback on this - any other interesting tidbits to contribute? Comment please.

On another note - Batgirl and I had a lovely surf in the slick smooth water this morning. It was the perfect Sunday, gorgeous conditions, no wind and surfers spread out all along Diamond Beach. When you sit on that tranquil ocean and the MOB friendly waves just keep rolling in, it really is special.

Meditative even.

SM

Mum and Bub

Doncha love technology? They say to make a mistake is human but to really f*** up takes a computer! My computer has had the equivalent of man flu recently - something simple and benign that could have been dealt with swiftly but it sooked so bad it had to undergo the full treatment - antivirus doodahs, countless hours at lotsa-money-an-hour and a complete reformat... for what? A stuck enter key! *@#$%!!!

Ooooommm...breathe Carla, breathe...

On a brighter note: Have you surfed with the whale lately? Husband and I had to shoo the old girl and her calf outa the way this morn - there were plenty of other places to mooch around but only one deep hole to surf into! Tough love, huh?


We are pretty sure they are a couple of Southern Right Whales, probably the mummy that has been sighted here frequently over recent years. You can tell a SR whale by the v shaped spout it makes when it comes to the surface. Also, it looks flatter on the surface of the water, unlike the hump of the Humpback whale. Husband taught me all this. In his former life as a Beach Inspector he was a renowned whale watcher and was referred to as 'Pod Boy'. He took this photo at Diamond this morning.


I know Batgirl and Franbaby had a splash with her on the weekend, and will confirm she is the size of an underwater semi trailer (??!!). They average about 15 metres and come to these sheltered backwaters (literally) to give birth. This miraculous underwater event happened on Saturday afternoon...at least thats what the local whale watching rumour mill says. I wanted to know how they knew, but the rumour mill wouldn't go into detail...

Meanwhile I have had 2 surfs in between netball and full time (did I mention that?!) work. Champagnekate and I ducked out for the surf of the week after netball one Saturday. We had a small window of opportunity involving no husbands and no children. So we took it. Brilliant! She is caught up on planet netball at the moment (State age championships) and won't get off for another week or so. Look forward to seeing you at your local rock, Ck!

And we are off to Red Rock this weekend. Never been before but will be hoping for some surf. If not, it'll be great to catch up with the motley crew from the north. Remember Ben and Ali? They haven't changed - still drink like Southern Rights!
SM

PS. Eldest Surfling named the mummy whale Lefty... she's a Southern Right, geddit?

MOB member moved to write...

My friend and I swapped boards when I could see hers was narrow and difficult to control and mine was wide and stable. Check out the dedication that follows -

A tribute to a surfboard called Bessie

Through Bessie I have overcome my fears and gained the belief and the confidence to know that I may just be able to do this thing called 'surfing'.

You see, I have been the slow one of the bunch, but Bessie has helped me in so many ways. She is always there when I need her and I love the times we spend together.

She is buoyant and keeps me afloat when I need support.

She is a little thicker through the middle than most, but she is colourful and pretty to look at.

She is always there when I need her and holds me afloat when I am out of my comfort zone or I feel a little bit wobbly.

When I show up overburdened with lifes demands, I spend time with her and my spirit is once again uplifted.

She encourages me to never give up and shows patience, staying with me wave after wave, responding only when I am good and ready.

Bessie doesn't hesitate to take on the white water for me and deliver me safely to the other side.

Now it is clear to me why Bessie is so special; she represents the collective attributes of the MOB - the girls I share the beauty and power of the ocean with. The ones I share the experience and the exhilaration of overcoming self imposed limitations through surfing. Bessie has given me something amazing, allowing me to do what I never imagined possible.

I have been blessed to know many a Bessie throughout different stages of my life, so I know that good friends really are something to be celebrated and cherished.

So here's to you Bessie - thank you!

Belinda Johnson.

And thank you Belinda. Everyone needs a Bessie ;)

Since I have finished study for the semester I have let my hair down, done a few jobs that needed doing and taken Husband to see Rickie Lee Jones at the Opera House in Sydney. She has been playing in the background of my adult life and it was great to see her live. Nice to be in a room full of other RLJ fans too (Husband was shaking his head in disbelief). The Opera House was in full colour and many other architectural landmarks were lit up along Macquarie St but the only thing that had enough light for me to photograph was this lovely lighthouse. Cute, huh?

While I was in Sydney I read that people only go out to restaurants these days to write about it in their blog so I feel obliged to mention that we had dinner in one of those all night restaurants at the Quay where the burgers are tolerable because its late at night and you are starving, and the chardonnay tastes like it came out of some smelly gumboot emptied over the kitchen sink straight into my wine glass. Well, it was raining that night.

Now, what can I dream up for this weekend...?

SM

Snake strikes fear into suburban couple

Husband gave a frightened yelp this afternoon and called out for me to come and help. I raced up the stairs to find a brown snake on the windowsill!

"Its alright, darling" I said, "its on the outside of the window!"

Ok, maybe it wasn't a yelp, and yes, he knew it was outside of the house, but I swear he looked a bit peaky when I found the two of them eyeballing each other through the glass. We bravely watched as the beautiful creature wound its way downstairs and eventually out into a tree. On the way it weaved through my boardies hanging out to dry. Thats the biggest snake I have had in my pants for ages! (boom, boom, tish!)

Oh, and when I said it was a brown snake - it was brown and it was a snake, but when I looked closely, it was actually a lovely yellow colour underneath and it had faint green flecks on its back -plus it climbed a tree, so the verdict is that is was a common tree snake.

Now heres a tip for all you Surfermums who need to know a snake from a snake: if its on the ground, RUN! (its most likely a dangerous brown snake, blake snake etc). If its up a tree/deck/pole, etc, its probably harmless (a climbing python, green tree snake etc)...Thank you FAWNA training.

My other tip for the week is: surf in cossies if there is no wind - its AWESOME! The water is so warm right now, lets enjoy it while we can. Thats what the surfermums were doing in the main photo Monday at the rock at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon - enjoying it very much! Check out the ear to ear grin on the right! That surfermum was loving it, and, yes - she did stand up, and the pair of them surfed all the way into shore and into their dreams that night...
SM

Welcome to Autumn

You ain't missing nothing folks! What a miserable day - onshore winds, grey chopped up ocean and suddenly I'm wearing a cardi! My foot is functioning again and I am ready and rearing to go surfing... if only the weather would co-operate. :(

Husband is on holidays for a month and is starting to get underfoot. If the surf dont pick up the garden will be hacked to within an inch of its life and I may find myself being driven up the wall...

Luckily, we are off to Canberra on Thursday to see the 'Masterpieces from Paris' exhibition. (That should keep him occupied for a few days.) Its a long way to go to see some paintings hanging on a wall but apparently these artworks by van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne etc haven't left France before, so since they have come all this way, we thought we'd make the effort and go see them. Plus, its mighty far away from the kids, I don't think we will hear them fighting from Canberra...but you never know.

In the mean time, I hope the weather does the right thing and delivers on the weekend.